Subnautica has been around for a while. And having stood the test of time, it has become one of the most polished open-world survival experiences out there.
The game itself already has plenty to offer. But what’s even better is that mods let you customize your experience even further.
So if you’re convinced to dive into the depths of customizing everything Subnautica, let’s take a look at some of the best mods to check out and get you started on that journey.
Another thing you’re definitely going to want would be the New Biome Map.
This mod overhauls the biome mode already included in the Map mod we mentioned, making everything much easier to read and keep track of.
It adds tons of important details like location entrances, hostile spawn areas, wrecks, and much more, making it much easier to plan out your paths for when there are places that need to be revisited.
As if those mods weren’t enough handholding, this next one even adds your very own mini map so your immediate surroundings will always be accessible in your HUD.
With these three map mods installed, you won’t ever have to worry about losing track of where you are.
Up next we have yet another great quality of life mod.
As the modder himself explains: it just doesn’t make sense that Subnautica gives you 9 tools but only 5 quick slots to use.
Fine, let’s be honest – having enough quick slots for everything just isn’t a luxury you usually get.
That doesn’t have to be the case with Subnautica, though, as the MoreQuickSlots mod gives you a total of 12 quick access item slots which are easily accessible with simple hotkeys.
Crafting is part of pretty much any survival game. But it can get quite tedious in Subnautica.
And while having blueprints in most games would allow you to quickly craft the item, in Subnautica that just means crafting capability for that item has been unlocked.
EasyCraft offers a simple solution, allowing you to instantly craft items from blueprints.
The mod even automatically takes needed resources from nearby storage units when necessary, making everything move along much quicker.
This brings us to another tedious aspect of the game – inventory management.
Running out for supplies is always interesting as you never know what new creatures or environments you’ll encounter.
Sorting through your haul back at your base, however, is a whole different story.
Getting things organized can take a lot of time, too. But thanks to modder RandyKnapp, AutosortLockers can do that for you.
The mod allows you to build color-coded storage lockers where you can set what specific item types each hold.
In addition to that, you’ll be able to build a Standing Autosort Receptacle which conveniently allows you to dump everything you’ve just gathered and simply watch it distribute everything into the appropriate containers.
Speaking of keeping your base organized, let’s look into the Resource Monitor mod.
This keeps track of every item you have tucked away in the various containers around your base, so you won’t have to keep going back and forth to find out what you need to stock up on.
The mod allows you to withdraw items right from the interface as well, making it much easier to grab whatever you need.
With all the upgrades you’re building around the base, it’s vital that you keep an eye on your power consumption as well.
After all, making sure your base stays up and running is one of the most basic things to do when it comes to survival.
The BetterPowerInfo mod makes it much easier to stay on top of power information, adding a much more detailed power production and consumption menu. The mod is very easy to use, letting you access the information by simply hitting the P button.
Yet it isn’t always as simple as it sounds, especially since you’re not going to need just one thing every single time.
An keeping track of everything you went out to look for can get quite overwhelming.
The Blueprint tracker makes things much easier by allowing you to pin blueprints directly to the HUD, giving you a checklist of what exact ingredients you’re looking for as well as how much of each you still lack.
Relying heavily on blips for looting, one of the most annoying bugs in the game was blips remaining on screen even after a databox has already been opened.
What’s even worse is that new scans would sometimes highlight empty boxes all over again, forcing you to circle back just to find that you didn’t really miss anything.
The DataBox Scanner Fix solves that problem. Easy peasy.
Survival games usually make it a point to make deaths much more painful – which if you think about it, makes sense if the whole point of the game is to stay alive.
This usually means that dying will cause you to lose everything you currently have in your inventory.
The only way to get your stuff back is usually to go back to where you died, but Subnautica makes that especially difficult as well.
Many fans have asked for some sort of “marker” for your last death location. And it looks like modder Ovyerus gave us exactly what we wanted.
Another way that Subnautica manages to make survival even more difficult is by making you completely ineffective against certain enemy types.
While you will be able to take some of the weaker creatures with just a knife, you’ll find that many of the larger enemies just can’t be taken down without additional firepower.
This makes vehicles all the more essential in the game.
This is also why managing vehicles isn’t very easy in Subnautica, as it takes quite a lot of work to repair any damages.
The MoonpoolVehicleRepair simplifies things a bit so you can keep your vehicles in tip top shape.
With the mod installed, you’ll be able to perform vehicle repairs directly from your Moonpool.
The CyclopsNearFieldSonar is another upgrade you’re going to want to get, making it much easier to navigate your surroundings.
The mod gives your Cyclops interface the same functionality as the Seaglide – giving you a visual sonar representation of the sub’s immediate surroundings.
This makes getting around much easier, giving you much more visibility on obstacles too.
Note that the Cyclops isn’t the only thing getting upgrades.
This mod adds buildable wind turbines to the game, as a step up from the in-game solar panels.
While they do look nice and run much better than the solar panels, they are quite expensive. So you probably aren’t going to have enough for these until the later parts of the game.
They are worth the upgrade though, as they produce much more power than the panels do.
Upgrading your base and vehicles is great and all… but that doesn’t really make you more effective against the many hostile creatures out there.
But what if you wanted to be able to fight back?
Mods allow you to pack more of a punch, adding completely new weapons to the game.
The Tech Pistol is one mod of choice, and while it does look much smaller than the others – don’t underestimate its power.
The pistol comes with three firing modes – cannon, laser, and scale. The first two are pretty self-explanatory, but the third changes a creature’s size upon firing on it.
If you’ve explored much of the map, you’ve probably come across that strange-looking relic that’s locked inside some sort of protective green barrier in the quarantine facility.
Well apparently, that was a rifle made with alien technology. Unfortunately for us, there’s really no way to get it out of that container.
Well, except for using this mod, giving you another weapon to use against those reapers.
In case you prefer not to get too up close and personal with the creepy sea creatures, this Laser Cannon mod might be a solid choice.
The mod lets you weaponize the Seamoth by giving you access to a brand-new upgrade module.
With this mod installed, you’ll be able to build yourself a set of laser cannons that attach directly to the front of the ship – making it much easier to fight off some enemies without having to expose yourself.
There’s really nothing like hacking and slashing your way through some of the more powerful creatures… but that’s just not possible with that tiny survival knife the game gives you.
The Ancient Sword is a much more viable option when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, and should be much more satisfying to use instead of shooting lasers.
Before getting into some of the more serious gameplay mods for Subnautica, there are a couple of fun little mods that you can try to spice things up a bit.
This one might not do much, but it’s a darn good time. It causes creatures to spawn in random sizes.
All you need to do is set a size range and enemies will spawn with a randomly generated size within the parameters you set.
Speaking of Fabricators, this next mod will drastically change the way you play the game.
You’re provided an all-in-one Fabricator which is essentially all of the game’s Fabricator machines merged into one.
You’ll no longer have to go back and forth between Fabricators depending on what you want to build, as everything can be conveniently built from one location.
Lifepod Unleashed is by far one of the most interesting mods. And is a great way to make your next playthrough all the more exciting.
The mod causes your pod to spawn at a random location around the map right after starting a fresh new game.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s great for players looking to change things up for a brand-new playthrough. So I wouldn’t recommend using this during your first time around, but certainly for your second or third.
If replayability is what you’re after, I highly recommend giving the “Realistic Recipes And Increased Difficulty” mod a try.
This was designed specifically for players who are looking for a much more challenging playthrough.
The mod ups the difficulty by tweaking blueprint values to make them more realistic. This usually means that recipes have higher requirements, so there will be an added focus on inventory management.
And to reiterate, this is a great mod for those who are looking for a challenge. So I wouldn’t recommend this if you’re a brand new player.
